Prosperity Gospel?

If this is prosperity gospel, then let's all prosper. Now I understand most folks are concerned with Japan, and rightly so. If I were watching the news as much as I have in months pass, I'd be all over it myself. But, I've been sitting on this clip of Pastor Joel Osteen for a week now, and this is as good a time as any to go ahead and publish this post.

Before I do, though, a few words. Now of course, the issue of race in the US goes beyond individuals. It's societal, structural, cultural, I could go on.

And of course, racism among blacks ain't the issue. We aren't anti-white nearly as much as whites would like to think. And even if we were, there's not enough of us to form some sort of "ebony" ceiling.

That said, a society is only a collection, however large, of individuals. For any particular -ism to exist, something has to be going on fundamentally at the individual level. In my experience, one obstacle preventing an end to racism is white US-Americans' refusal to do any self-examination, collectively or individually. To wit, Joel Osteen's message is one that should be heard across the country.

Set at Liberty Those Who Are Oppressed

“ The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,
       Because He has anointed Me
      To preach the gospel to the poor;
      He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
      To proclaim liberty to the captives
      And recovery of sight to the blind,
      To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
       To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”
  Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. (Luke 4:18-20, New King James Version)

There's been a lot of smack talk about Black Liberation Theology. And I thought I'd help set the record straight. Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite shares this pithy little number over at WashPo:

There was a lavish buffet, and a senior professor in theology, carrying a plate piled high with food from the buffet, came over to where Gutierrez and I were chatting, and he loomed over Gutierrez. "So," this senior professor intoned, "Professor Gutierrez, explain liberation theology to me." Gutierrez looked at him. "It's a matter of the stomach," Gutierrez replied. "The stomach?" the large and portly senior professor said, astonished. "Yes," said Gutierrez, looking at the professor's loaded plate. "You do theology differently when your stomach is full than when it is empty."

What?! Yes! Too true, too true!

What Does God Do for You: Continuing My Series, "A Conflict of Faiths"

I can't quite grab the question I want to ask, but it's something like this: how do white Christians engage their faith?

See, I know that throughout history through today, the black Church has been a source of strength to the black community. Not just our faith in God, but the strength found in community. Individually, our faith and trust in God gets us through . . . everything. Craziness where you work? Call on Jesus. Craziness at home? Call on Jesus. Craziness at church? Call on Jesus. We don't wait for a catastrophe before turning to God. And the music and excitement on Sunday? That's our praise and thanksgiving for what God's done, what God's doing, and what's yet to come.

Now, don't misunderstand me. Not every black person is religious or Christian. But the vast majority of us are.

Now, white Christians. How do you engage your faith? Setting aside that for white Christians, religiosity equals racism, how do you use your faith? Is it a source of strength? How does it inform your identity if it does? Or, is it a source of social status?

Here’s What’s Been Bothering Me: a Conflict of Faiths

For weeks I’ve been bothered by this question: in what way is the black Church and the white Church united to form something of a multiracial, multicultural American Church?